Community Cats

Feral cats- or “Community Cats”- are defined as “domesticated cats that have returned to the wild, or the descendants of such an animal.” TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return) is one of the most critical programs we’ve implemented to help our communities become No-Kill.

What We Offer

TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return): Free rabies vaccine and spay/neuter surgery for free-roaming cats in Buncombe County. Cats are ear-tipped, vaccinated, and returned to their outdoor home.

Assistance with humane trapping efforts and transport to the Humane Alliance for spay/neuter.

Neighbor mediation and colony care counseling.

Winter Shelters and Straw.

Working Cat Placement

Have a barn, stable, warehouse, or other shelter you need protected from pests? Or would you love to help a cat in need but can’t bring it inside? Hire a Community Cat! There is no adoption fee, and our healthy, sterilized, feral or semi-social cats will work for nothing more than daily water and food (available through our pet food pantry), protection from the elements, and infrequent veterinary care. Please complete the application at www.bwar.org/adopt/barncat if you’d like to adopt some working cats!

TNR FAQs

If you know of or care for community cats in your neighborhood or at your business, start TNR immediately, before an additional litter is born, which will need resources and care that is already thin. Contact Eric at Eric@bwar.org or (828) 301-3377 for more information!

TNR is the method of humanely trapping feral cats, getting them spayed/neutered, vaccinated for rabies, and then returning them to their colony to live out their lives.

TNR has been practiced for decades in the U.S. and is successfully practiced in hundreds of communities and in every landscape and setting around the world.

It offers a long-term solution. It stabilizes and reduces the population, improves the cats’ lives, saves taxpayer dollars, and addresses neighbors’ concerns.

Simply removing or relocating feral cats does not lower the number of feral cats. New cats replace the old ones and nothing much changes in terms of overpopulation and nuisance behavior. There is something about the location that brought the original cats there (a safe shelter or food source) that will keep bringing more cats to the location.

Trying to rescue all of the feral and free-roaming cats to find them homes or sanctuary is impossible given their numbers and limited socialization.

A well-managed TNR program involves a colony caretaker who provides food and adequate shelter, and monitors the health of the cats.

TNR has been shown to be the least costly way of stabilizing feral cat populations. Lower euthanasia rates at local shelters, fewer complaint calls for animal control, and the use of a large volunteer work force all save taxpayer dollars.

TNR helps the community by stabilizing the population of the feral colony and, over time, reducing it. At the same time, nuisance behaviors such as spraying, loud noise, and fighting are largely eliminated and no more kittens are born. Yet, the benefit of natural rodent control is continued.

Are there stray cats in your neighborhood, and you could use some help? We’re here for you! Brother Wolf Animal Rescue’s Community Cats Program helps local citizens vaccinate and “fix” outdoor cats so that they can no longer reproduce. Volunteers then maintain care and feeding so that the cats can live out their lives in their outdoor home and not end up in the local shelter system.